Storage battery.



O. P. WASHBURN.

STORAGE BATTERY.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 12. 1909.

Patented June 28, 191.0.

I INVENTO}? l'arlmy? Mew/z 191. 1% i W/ TNESSE S A TTOHNE YS of this general type.

UNITED STATES PATENT orrion.

CHARLES FREDERICK WASHBURN, OF NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT.

STORAGE BATTERY.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 28 1910.

Application filed August 12, 1909. Serial No. 512,528.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. NASH- BURN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New London, in the county of New London and State of Connecticut, have with a positive pole elect-rode of lead or of a material in which lead predominates, may be made very thin and light provided ithas a sutiicient extent of surface exposed to the connection of the battery liquid. What I seek to do, therefore,-is to provide a positive pole electrode made of lead and formed preferably of a single strip bent back upon itself, as hereinafter described, and formed in any suitable manner, preferably by the action of the current, and in connection with this elec{ trode I provide a negative pole electrode consisting of a number of separate plates of aluminum which may be plated with various other metals and having such form as to expose a very large surface.

Since aluminum is a very light metal, the weight of the battery as a whole is very materially reduced by the use of the negative pole electrode made largely or completely of aluminum.

For the positivepole electrode I findit convenient to first produce a plain lead plate and use it in connection with the cathode to form its lead plate by aid of a battery current. That is to say, by repeatedly charging and discharging the battery, the plate originally consisting of entirely metallic lead is gradually rendered spongy and porous in character and is also gradually converted into lead peroxid, the outermost portions being effected first as in other battery plates I find a very convenient way to proceed is to connect up the plates-with a dynamo and send the current through the battery, say fortwo'or three hours, the lead anode thereby becoming covered with a film of lead neroxid, and the aluminum plate becoming coated superficially with a film of spongy metal. In this condition the battery will retain a considerable quantity of electricity and give the same fort-h as soon as the dynamo 1s d1scon nected and the proper circuit completed.

I have discovered that if the positive pole electrode has considerable storage capacity or, in other words, if the positive pole electrode be made for instance of lead peroxi'd or other material which in other batteries is suit able for holding a considerable quantity of energy, the negative'pole electrode may be made coni iaratively light provided it have a large superficial area.- It seems, followin this lineof reasoning, that the'quantity of electricity given forth by the battery does not depend so much on the thickness of the negative pole electrode as upon its superficial area, when this area is adequately balanced by a suflicientquantity of lead peroxid or analogous material in the positive pole electrode. Hence'I save weight by making the negative pole electrode of light material and giving it a large superficial surface. I have also found that the durability and reliability of the battery may be increased within proper limits by ivin to the plates the construction hereinafter d escribed.

Reference is to be had toethe accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like characters of reference indicate like parts in all the views.

Figure l is a vertical section through a cell of my improved battery, the electrode, however, being shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view showing a portion of the positive pole electrode and a portion of the negative pole'electrode, together with parts immediately associated therewith.

The battery cell is shown at 4 and is provided with a cover Resting within the bottom of the cell is a top plate 6 of insulating material, preferably of rubber. The positive pole electrode is shown at 7 and consists of a strip of lead bent'back upon itself so as to form a continuous member of sinuous form, the bends 8 and 9 being of different sizes in order to accommodate the negative pole electrode plates as hereinafter described. The negative pole electrode plates are shown at 10 and have much the i as:

batteryl Each plate 10 prorided with an ear ii iiite rel it and extending up .verdly, a rod 1:4 of metal being threaded through the several ears and used to mainlain eleetrienl communication between them. A conductor 14, integral with the posit-ire pole electrode and. forming practically a continuation of the same, extends upwardly through the cover 5.' Another eoni'lnetor l3, integral with one of the plates 10, extends upwardly through the cover Binding posts 15, in, are connected securely with the conductors 13, ll, and serve as the battery terminals which receive the Wires .7, tier connecting the battery with any :nnent, or circuit. At ll), 20, made of rubber or ting material. These l spacing 5, ps are' lei into the bends 9, and the heads 3 are larger than the bends 8, they acconnnmlatc the downwnrdly-cxtending poriiiiins oi the negative pole electrode plains ii), A [tor the plates are made as above do, ibed and are connected to getlnrr, being epaced by the bpacing bars ll), 2o. 21, the dire group of plates and spacing'lnir-s is snbjecled lo cOllipl wSlOil end is 1; Jed in lhe cell l, as shown in 1., ii (A. red rubber bands may be stretched around 'lhe on hold them the plates so as to lthrr-n l llllm' i: not

Strip Wine eo-mllcd bellow. l and the l I ldpliitr}: e

l. in place iiy make use employed i tery suib for :1 n l Harin oeecribcd enema said folds, and spacing members disposed i intermediate said lead plate and said aluminum plate.

3. in a slorngo battery, the combination oi a battery plate-bent back upon itself so are to form a sinuous member provided with bellows folds, some of which are larger than olliers, and a second plate provided with pul'lions disposed among the largest of said bellows loldg and means for insulating said portions from said. folds.

l. in a batlery, the combination of a melallic plate bent back upon itself so as to form bellmvs folds, a number of other motallic plates, earn of a substentiully U form, inserted nitially Within said folds, and means for spacing said last-mentioned plates from said first-mentioned plate.

5. In a battery, a metallic plate of one sign bcnl back upon itself so as to form bellows folds, a number of other metallic plates, each of a sign dill'ering from said first-mentioned sign, inserted partially Within said l'oll'ls, and spacing;- members disposed intermediate said first-mentioned plate and said inst-mentioned plates.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing WlUXGSSGS.

CHAS. FREDERICK WASHBURN. 

